Universal golf-club.



J. c. .McLAUG HLIN.

UNIVERSAL GOLF CLUB;

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21. 1916.

Patented Jan. 15 1918.

'-TOBI-0.- or nasr-onmenfm V sou-onus.

versal Golf-Clubs, of w ich the following is a specification.

--My invention relates more articularly to golf clubs wherein a plura it y of detachable striking faces are provided, one

be attached to the club at a of which ma time so that the club may re resent a utter, a driver, mashie or other clilb accor mg to the striking face attached to the head.

I am aware that golf clubs of various kinds have been devised wherein the an le of the striking face may be varied, but I am not aware that clubs wherein the length of the shaft can beva'ried to correspond with the an 1e of the striking face have been devised. e object of my invention is to provide a club wherein the angle of the striking face on the head of the club may be'gvaried by having the s'trikinlg'face detachably secured; to the'head. referably, several striking facesnnay be rovided, any one ofwhich'may be attach to the head and atythe same time I. provide means whereby the length of the shaft may be varied. to correspond; with the particular strikin face attached to the head- By this I am enabledto rovide in a.- sin e. ub adapted, .w1th-. slight adjustment, to re resent an one of metho universal golf club a the usual clubs required the 1 er. .The advantage of a 'club of th1s kin isohvious,

because the player-with such a club is not required to carry a heavy golf bag equi' ped witlra half a dozenor more separate clubs.

'The extrastrikin'g faces are small and com-' ggmtiv'ely light and therefore,,can readily carried in the pocket. The striking faces are, in the present instance, readily attached 'or detached from the'head and the shaft, b simple manipulation, can be elongated or ortened to correspond with the striking face the player desires'toiuste for maki any particular shot. I thus provide a sing e club which may quicklgabe adjusted to represent any club in the Furthermore, I have en and can get better fiend that; many layers prefer the lie and balance ofixjofa notch 11 in the back of the dove tailed a wood club or a club with a broadhead:

results therefrom. For mg Meghan ofLctte'rl mat; Patented mm, 1918. Application fled July 21,

1818. BQri'GIlJI'D. 110,481.

improved universal golf club alon the lines of the wooden club and the club ead may be made of wood ormetal, preferably alu minum, as shown in the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings,"

Fi re 1 shows the complete'elubwith a striking face attached.

Fi 2 shows an end view of the club head, the s aft being broken away.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the club head with the striking face removed.

Fig. 4 represents a top view of the head partiall in crosssect ion to show the attachment 0 the striking face thereto. I

Fig. 5 represents the adjustable shaft with the upper slidable member in section.

Fig. 6. represents a portion of the shaft? partially in, section, showing the method 0 ositively securing the two telescoping memell? together in adjusted position.

of different strikinj'g' afaces which may: be

7 of Fig. 6 and attached to are {'elubf head represent the "different forms of clubs. 1

Referrin to the drawings,j* 1 're resents the head 0 my improved 91f clu which is referably broad and o the shape and sty e of theordinary wooden club and may tamedof wood, but preferably I have shown it asljinadeof aluminum, the shank 2 ljiein integral with thejhead and bored out at to form a'socket for attaching the head, -to the shaft' in the usual manner. Preferably, the head is also bored outtransversely at 4" and 5 above and below the center to 1i hten the club or be nee.- The front si groove 6 open at the outer end and provided with a latch spring 7 secured to the head in any suitable manner as by a screw 8, as will be seen in Figa and '4 of the drawings.- A strikin face is preferably faced ofl at the bee tongue 9",adapted to fit the do ve tail 6 in the club head, as indicatedin Flgs. 2 and'4 of the drawin The outer end of the ring'catch7 15 preferably bent at 10 to em anose'adapted to engage the shoulder tongue of each -'s triking face thereby holdkfive it the requisite and-provided with a dove tailed- 7 is a transverse cross-section of the i .'-8, 9, 10and-1l-represent end views-i,

95 erably. faced off at an angle to the bottom stood that the striking face may be secured to the head in an suitable or preferred manner but the met 0d of attachment shown and described is preferable because 'of';. its sim licity. The end of the head at 12219 pre erably provided with a recess wherein the tail or end 13 of the latch spring 7, is

adapted to extend so as to bring it into 091- tion to be reached readily by the p ayer when it is desired to release and remove a strikin face. A light sprin extension-141s adapted to assist in closmg t e openin back of the spring catch and thereby facilitate the 0 eration of the device. 1 preferably provi e a plurality of striking faces adapted to fit the dove tail snu 1y, any one of which may be attached to t e club head in order to rovide the club desired by the layer. he angles the respective striking i aces make with the bottom of the club may be varied to suit the requirements of any articular player so as to tprovide striking aces corresponding with he ordinarily uses.

An extension shaft is secured to the club head 1 in any suitable manner as by means of a pin 15 through the shank 2, as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. In the present instance the lower art of the handle shaft 16, which is secured to the head of the club, is of wood covered with a casing 17, of thin sheet metal or tubing, but obviously I may use the wood without the tubing cover or tubing without the wood if desired. Telescoping over this is another tubular member 18 adaptedto snugly fit the member 17, as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Obviously, in a club of this kind, it is necessary that the respective members of the longitudinally ad'ustable shaft shall not turn or become disp aced circumferentially while in use. To avoid this I preferably provide the lower vtubular member 17 with a longitudinal oove 19 in which atongue 20 snu ly fits. referablv the tongue 20. isformed%my an inward longitudinal corrugation of the outer tube member 18, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 7 of the drawin s, although I do not e several clubs ish to be limited to t is construction. By I this means the shaft" may be extended to the .f desiredlength within the limits of the telescoping members while maintaining the. members against twisting or circumferential displacement either with relation to each other or to the head of the club. Obviously thls 1s an important feature'of my improved club because it is desirablethat the club during use will be rigid in all its parts.

\ Thetelescoping memb'rs'after adjustment may be secured to ther in-any desired manher, but preferab y I have-provided a plu-' rality of holes 21 inthe inner tube 17, the holes for convenience bein' glocated longitudinally in the bottom of t e groove 19. as

indicated in Figs. 5 and of drawings. The

oute telescoping tube 18 is preferably provided with a single hole through the corruatio'n 20 in position to register with the oles 21 in the tube 17. Above this hole I preferably secure a tubular boss or lug 22 to the outer tube and through the boss and the hole in the tube 18 I pass a pin 23 adapted, when in register, to slide into and snugly fit the holes 21 of the inner tube 17, as indicated at 24 in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawin s. The outer end of this pin 23 is prefera ly provided with a head which is grooved circumferenti'ally at 26 and a pairof spring actuated fingers 25-are adapted to engage the groove in the pin at 26, as indicated in Fi 7 of the drawings. The fingers 25 preferab -y extend around the shaft, as in- I dicated in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and are integral with a leaf spring 27 secured, by

solder or otherwise, to the wall of the outer telescopin tube 18 at 28 and 29, as indicated in 1g. 6 of the drawings. The spring member 27 and the fin ers 25 secured thereto are preferably space away from the tube 18 on the side opposite the pin 23 so as to permit the spring to be pressed inward and carry the pin 23 outward to disengage the latter from the holes 21 when it is desired to shift the telescoping members to obtain a new adjustment of the length of the club. When the proper length 1s obtained, the

spring member 25 is released and the action of the spring 27 will be such as to cause the pin 23 to rengage one of the holes 21 and positively lock the shaft members to ether.

The handle shaft may beprovide with the usual or any preferred form of grip at the upper end of the outer telescoping member. In the present instance I have preferably .attached a corkgrip 30 to the upper end of the telescoping tube 18. A ferrule is preferably attached to the tube at the lower end of the grip and. a ring or cap 32 attached to the outer end of the-tube, these being adapted to hold the cork grip in' proper sition and give afinish to the handle.

remove the striking face by pressm down player i can bf viously, the grip may-be glued or otherwise on the tail 13 of the spring 7, thus re easing the latch from the notch 11 in the back of the striking face already attached to the head. The striking face can then be removed by sliding it longitudinally and a new striking face-inserted, the player being particular to select the angle 'of face required whether it be utter, mashie, midiron orother club, it is esired to use. After selecting and attaching the striking i0 9 the shaft 1.0

' is then adjusted as to length to correspond with the striking face. This is done by pressing with the fingers on the spring 27 opposite the pin 23, thus lifting the pin out of the hole 21 in the lower member of the shaft,

after which the outer telescoping member 18 7 may be slid either in or out to shorten or details of construction herein shownand described for obviously these may be varied to suit the requirements of various players and different shaped heads may be used as well as different forms of telescoping shafts without departingfrom the spirit and scope of myinvention.

I claim:

1. A universal golf club comprising a head, the striking face of which may be changed to vary the angle thereof, a handle shaft and means for varying the length of the shaft to accord with the striking face of the, club.

2. A' universal golf club comprising a head, means for changing the striking face of the head to .vary the angle thereof, a

handle shaft and means for changing the length of the shaft to correspond with the striking face on said head. a

3., A universal golf club comprising a head, means for removably attaching striking faces of varying angles thereto, and an extensible handle shaft, the length of which maybe varied to correspond with the strik ing face on said head.

head, the striking face of which maybe changed to vary the angle thereof, a telescoping handle shaft therefor, means for preventing circumferential displacement of the telescoping members of said shaft while permitting longitudinal adjustment thereof for varymg the length to accord with the striking face of the club, and means for se-' curing the telescoping members in adjusted position. V

5. A universal golf club comprisin a head, means for changing the striking face to vary the angle thereof, a handle shaft adapted to be lengthened or shortened to co'rrespond with the angle of the striking face attached to said head, and means for preventing relative displacement of the parts when adjusted.

6. A universal golf clubcomprising a head, a plurality o striking faces therefor, means for removably securing a striking face on said head, a handle shaft adjustable as to length to correspond with the particular striking face secured to said head, and means for holding the shaft to the adjusted length.

7. A universal golf club comprising a head, means permitting the angle of the strikmg face to be varied, a handle shaft composed of telescoping members, means for preventing torsional displacement of said members relative to each other and to the head, said members being relatively adjustable' longitudinally to vary the length of the shaft to accord with the striking face of the club, and means for securing the members in adjusted position.

8. A universal golf club comprising a;

head, a handle shaft therefor compose two members, one slidable u on the other,

coiiperating means integral Wlllh the respective members for preventing circumferential displacement of one member with respect tothe other, and interlocking means for securing said membersagainst longltudinal sliding of one member with respect to the other.

9. A' universal olf club comprising a head, a handle shat composed of two telescoping members one secured to said head and the other slidable to vary the length of the shaft, a rib and groove connection between -said members adapted to permit longitudinal adjustment while preventing relative circumferential displacement of the members, and means for ositively securin 4. A universal golf club comprising a golf club comprising a head, a plurality o striking faces adapted tobe removably attached to said head one at a time, the angles of the respective striking faces being different to represent difl'erent clubs, means for attachin a striking face to said head, a handle sha secured to said head and adjustable as to length to correspond with. the angle of the striking face attached to said head, and means for maintaining said shaft at its adjusted length. r I JOHN C. McLAUGHLIN. 

